Relationship between weight and linear dimensions of Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) following fattening on western Mediterranean farms

This study presents various models based on formulae relating weight and dimensions (length, height and width) of Bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus (L.), fattened in captivity. The main aim of establishing these expressions is to design tools for indirectly predicting the weight of a Bluefin tuna from measurements of one or more dimensions obtained using non- invasive methods such as stereoscopic cameras. Measurements of maximum length, height and width following slaughter were taken of fish fattened in captivity (n = 2078). Different relationships drawn from the dimensions of the tuna against their weight are fitted with part of the data collection and later checked against a reserved sample set. The resulting formu- lae are compared with the formulae most commonly used in the case of wild tuna. The results of this study confirm that, for tuna fattened in cages, the availability of more than one dimension to estimate weight improves the predictive power of the model and reduces error in the estimate.En prensa4,41

Structural and magnetic studies in ferrihydrite nanoparticles formed within organic-inorganic hybrid matrices

6 pages, 6 figures, 1 table.We report detailed transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy/energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (STEM/EDS) studies on ferrihydrite nanoparticles in an organic-inorganic matrix. The Fourier transform of HRTEM images indicates the existence of six-line ferrihydrite. Combined STEM and EDS studies give further confirmation of the presence of iron in the observed particles and its absence in the matrix. The derived mean particle size and size distribution is 4.7±0.2 nm with a lognormal deviation of s=0.4±0.1. These values were used for analysis of magnetic measurements, yielding the determination of the anisotropy constant Keff=4×105 erg/cm3 and the power relation between the number of iron ions per particle and the number of uncompensated ones p≈1/3. This value indicates that the uncompensated spins are mainly randomly distributed at the surface. According to this model, a shell thickness of about one ferrihydrite unit cell is estimated.The financial support from FCT, POCTI/ CTM/46780/02, research grant MAT2004-03395-C02-01 from the Spanish CICYT, and Acción Integrada Luso- Española E-105/04 is gratefully recognized. One of the authors (N.J.O.S.) acknowledges a grant from FCT (Grant No. SFRH/BD/10383/2002). Another author (L.M.L.-M.) acknowledges support from Xunta de Galicia (Grant No. PGIDIT03TMT30101PR).Peer reviewe

Caracterización epidemiológica de la hematuria vesical bovina en Caldas, Risaralda y Quindío

Se realizó el estudio de la epidemiologia de la Hematuria Vesical Bovina (HVB) en Caldas, Risaralda y Quindío. La investigación se efectuó a través de La resolución de encuestas practicadas en 45 fincas de la zona. Por los resultados obtenidos se concluye que Ia HVB solo afecta a los bovinos con una prevalencia instantánea de 1,16% para Ia zona y de 3,83% para las fincas, determinándose que las vacas mayores de cuatro años son las más afectadas y estableciéndose que las razas puras y los cruces son más susceptibles que el ganado criollo y que algunas razas rústicas como el normando. Se determinó que la HVB se ve favorecida en su presentación por precipitaciones pluviales anuales alrededor de los 2.500 mm y por el pH menor o igual a 5,0 y el color amarillento de los suelos, como también por un manejo deficiente de praderas, representado por un control de malezas anual a mayor que determina Ia abundancia de malezas en general y de helechos en particular con las fincas afectadas, las cuales a su vez se caracterizan por ser explotaciones más de tipo extensivo donde no suministran a los animales sales a premezclas minerales. Finalmente se calculan algunas pérdidas económicas y se discute que la HVB es ante todo producto de las características ecológicas y del sistema de explotación y manejo animal, a la vez que se plantean medidas tendientes a su prevención y control.An epidemiological study on Bovine Vesical Haematuria (HVB) was carried out based on the evaluation of a survey on 45 farms of Caldas, Risaralda and QuindIo regions in Colombia. The results indicated the prevalence of the disease was of 1.16% for the whole region and 3.83% for farms. It also indicated that BVH affects mainly cows older than four years and that pure breed or cross breeds are more susceptible than "criollo" and rustic breeds like Normando cattle. The annual rainfall around 2.500 mm., pH values equal or under 5.0 and yellowish color of the soil, as well as inadecuate weed's control that leads to an 341 excees of them, particulary braken fern were considered the most important factors that contributed to the presentation of the disease. The affected farms were also caracterized by lack of mineral supplies on the animals ration. Discussion of the importance of ecological and animal handling factors, evaluation of economical losses and recommendations on prevention and control are presented.Ganado de doble propósito-Ganaderia doble proposit

Proyecto Piloto Eco-rehabilitación de las instalaciones de centro ambiental y ecoturístico del nororiente amazónico

The objective of this study establishes Eco-rehabilitation actions in the facilities of the Environmental and Ecotourism Center of Northeast Amazonia, making three interventions with the use of plastic waste, rainwater and sun, The projectcovers from awareness campaigns, collection and massive transformation of plastic waste, complemented with the use of rainwater and photovoltaic energy. Contributing to sustainability, and promoting research processes, entrepreneurshipaimed at the preservation and conservation of natural resources, for this, was collected together with the community, plastic waste PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high density polyethylene ), PP (polypropylene) and ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), to perform recovery and transformation processes by means of plastic intrusion, in order to obtain blocks in plastic wood, evaluating later mechanical properties such as traction and bending, in order to obtain a quality product for the construction of an Ecofachada.El objetivo de este estudio instaura acciones de Eco-rehabilitación en las instalaciones del Centro Ambiental y Ecoturístico de Nororiente Amazónico, efectuando tres intervenciones con el aprovechamiento de residuos plásticos, aguas lluvias y sol. El proyecto abarca desde campañas de sensibilización, recolección y transformación masiva de residuos plásticos, complementado con el aprovechamiento de aguas lluvias y energía fotovoltaica. Contribuyendo a la sostenibilidad, y promoviendo procesos de investigación, emprendimientos orientados a la preservación y conservación de los recursos naturales, para ello, se realizó la recolección junto con la comunidad, de residuos plásticos PET (polietileno tereftalato), PEAD (polietileno de alta densidad), PP (polipropileno) y ABS (acrilonitrilo butadieno estireno), para realizar procesos de recuperación y transformación mediante intrusión de plásticos, con el fin de obtener bloques en madera plástica, evaluando posteriormente propiedades mecánicas como tracción y flexión, con el fin de obtener un producto de calidad para la construcción de una Ecofachada

Evaluation of growth performance, oxidative stress and immune response in gilthead sea bream fed with novel feed formulations

Trabajo presentado en Aquaculture Europe 2020, celebrado en modalidad virtual del 12 al 15 de abril de 2021.[Introduction]: As the aquaculture sector continues to expand while being more environmentally conscious, the development of sustainable aquafeeds is becoming increasingly important (FAO, 2020). Tolerance to the replacement of fishmeal and fish oil in feeds has been largely studied in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) (Gasco et al., 2018; Karapanagiotidis, Psofakis, Mente, Malandrakis, & Golomazou, 2019), and many products emerge now as potential alternatives to ingredients used in conventional formulations. A main goal of GAIN EU project is to evaluate emerging ingredients, already commercially available, using different formulation concepts that consider all fish nutritional requirements. GAIN diets are based on circularity principles, maximizing resource efficiency, while contributing towards zero waste in the agro-food value chain, feed cost-effectiveness, and having good social acceptance. The present study aims to understand the real impacts of these novel feed formulations on growth performance, nutritional condition, immunity, and oxidative status using biomarkers.[Methods]: Quadruplicate groups of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) were fed ad libitum with four different diets. Three of them have been designed to facilitate aquaculture eco-intensification through increased circularity and resource utilization: NOPAP - formula without terrestrial animal by-products processed animal protein; PAP - formula with terrestrial animal by-products processed animal protein; and MIX - a mixture of NOPAP and PAP. The fourth feed followed a standard commercial formulation and was used as a control diet. After a 77-day feeding trial, plasma samples were collected to evaluate humoral parameters (protease, anti-protease, bactericidal activity and IgM). Liver and head kidney tissues were collected for the simultaneous profiling of a panel of 42 (liver) or 29 (head kidney) genes, as markers of growth performance, lipid and energy metabolism, and immune and antioxidant activities by qPCR. Liver samples were also used to analyse oxidative biomarker (Lipid peroxidation and catalase).[Results]: Tested feed formulations did not affect growth performance or feed intake. However, fish fed PAP and MIX diets had a higher feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio than control and NOPAP groups. This impairment was accompanied by a decreased hepatic expression of igf-i and ghr1. NOPAP diet slightly increased innate immunity parameters, showing better results on bactericidal, IgM, and anti-protease activity, as well as a significant up-regulation of il-8 in head kidney. Fish fed with PAP diet displayed an up-regulation of pro-inflammatory genes, namely il-8 and other cytokines (il-1β, tnf-α), chemokines (ck8), and chemokine receptors (ccr3). The same pattern was found for the T-cell markers cd3x, cd4, and cd8a. The activity of the antioxidant enzyme catalase was significantly lower in fish fed with PAP and MIX diet, being a possible indication of decreased antioxidant defences. This is supported by the observed regulation of antioxidant genes (mn-sod/sod2, gpr-170, gpr-94, and gpr-75), although not statistically significant.[Discussion]: The similar performance of novel formulations and the control diet indicates that they can be considered as viable options for seabream feeds. Differences in FCR suggest that NOPAP can promote a better bioavailability and/or increased absorption of key nutrients than PAP and MIX diets. Indeed, this impairment was also evidenced by their hepatic expression pattern of markers of growth performance. In general, PAP exhibited an opposite response to the NOPAP group. NOPAP was closer to the control diet, and MIX showed intermediate values between PAP and NOPAP in almost all parameters. The markedly pro-inflammatory head kidney expression profile in PAP fish may be also indicative of an impaired response at the mucosal level. In any case, the low proportion of differentially expressed genes between the experimental diets and control (18 out of 71) constitutes an additional and indirect confirmation of their suitability.[Conclusions]: Novel feed formulations for gilthead seabream seem to be viable options for a near future. In any case, all results are related to the formulation itself and cannot be attributed to a specific ingredient alteration. More studies are necessary to understand the cost-benefit of these new formulations and their market acceptability to optimize sustainability within the current/predictable European regulatory framework.“This project was financed from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N° 773330 (GAIN), with additional support from Nord university (Norway) and Sparos SA (Portugal)”

Use of Machine-Learning Algorithms in Intensified Preoperative Therapy of Pancreatic Cancer to Predict Individual Risk of Relapse

Background: Although surgical resection is the only potentially curative treatment for pancreatic cancer (PC), long-term outcomes of this treatment remain poor. The aim of this study is to describe the feasibility of a neoadjuvant treatment with induction polychemotherapy (IPCT) followed by chemoradiation (CRT) in resectable PC, and to develop a machine-learning algorithm to predict risk of relapse. Methods: Forty patients with resectable PC treated in our institution with IPCT (based on mFOLFOXIRI, GEMOX or GEMOXEL) followed by CRT (50 Gy and concurrent Capecitabine) were retrospectively analyzed. Additionally, clinical, pathological and analytical data were collected in order to perform a 2-year relapse-risk predictive population model using machine-learning techniques. Results: A R0 resection was achieved in 90% of the patients. After a median follow-up of 33.5 months, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 18 months and median overall survival (OS) was 39 months. The 3 and 5-year actuarial PFS were 43.8% and 32.3%, respectively. The 3 and 5-year actuarial OS were 51.5% and 34.8%, respectively. Forty-percent of grade 3-4 IPCT toxicity, and 29.7% of grade 3 CRT toxicity were reported. Considering the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factors, the number of resected lymph nodes, the presence of perineural invasion and the surgical margin status, a logistic regression algorithm predicted the individual 2-year relapse-risk with an accuracy of 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56-0.84, p = 0.005). The model-predicted outcome matched 64% of the observed outcomes in an external dataset. Conclusion: An intensified multimodal neoadjuvant approach (IPCT + CRT) in resectable PC is feasible, with an encouraging long-term outcome. Machine-learning algorithms might be a useful tool to predict individual risk of relapse. A small sample size and therapy heterogeneity remain as potential limitations

The biota of the Upper Cretaceous site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain)

The Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) fossil site of Lo Hueco was recently discovered close to the village of Fuentes (Cuenca, Spain) during the cutting of a little hill for installation of the railway of the Madrid-Levante high-speed train. To date, it has yielded a rich collection of well-preserved Cretaceous macrofossils, including plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. The recovered fossil assemblage is mainly composed of plants, molluscs (bivalves and gastropods), actinopterygians and teleosteans fishes, amphibians, panpleurodiran (bothremydids) and pancryptodiran turtles, squamate lizards, eusuchian crocodyliforms, rhabdodontid ornithopods, theropods (mainly dromaeosaurids), and titanosaur sauropods. This assemblage was deposited in a near-coast continental muddy floodplain crossed by distributary sandy channels, exposed intermittently to brackish or marine and freshwater flooding as well as to partial or total desiccation events.The Konzentrat-Lagerstatt of Lo Hueco constitutes a singular accumulation of fossils representing individuals of some particular lineages of continental tetrapods, especially titanosaurs, eusuchians and bothremydid turtles. In the case of the titanosaurs, the site has yielded multiple partial skeletons in anatomical connection or with a low dispersion of their skeletal elements. A combination of new taxa, new records of taxa previously known in the Iberian Peninsula, and relatively common taxa in the European record compose the Lo Hueco biota. The particular conditions of the fossil site of Lo Hueco and the preliminary results indicate that the analysis of the geological context, the floral and faunal content, and the taphonomical features of the site provide elements that will be especially useful for reassess the evolutionary history of some lineages of European Late Cretaceous reptiles.Peer reviewe

Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Adult Patients with Functional Chronic Constipation

Resumen Objetivo: diseñar una guía de práctica clínica para orientar el diagnóstico, y establecer la clasificación y el tratamiento farmacológico y no farmacológico en los pacientes adultos con estreñimiento crónico funcional en Colombia. Materiales y métodos: el grupo desarrollador de la presente guía estuvo conformado por un equipo multidisciplinario con apoyo de la Asociación Colombiana de Gastroenterología, el Grupo Cochrane ITS y el Instituto de Investigaciones Clínicas de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Se desarrollaron preguntas clínicas relevantes y se realizó la búsqueda de guías nacionales e internacionales en bases de datos especializadas. Las guías existentes fueron evaluadas en términos de calidad y aplicabilidad; ninguna de ellas cumplió criterios de adaptación, por lo que se decidió desarrollar una guía de novo. El Grupo Cochrane realizó la búsqueda sistemática de la literatura. Las tablas de evidencia y recomendaciones fueron realizadas usando la metodología GRADE. Resultados: se desarrolló una guía de práctica clínica basada en la evidencia para el diagnóstico, clasificación y tratamiento farmacológico y no farmacológico de los pacientes con estreñimiento crónico funcional en Colombia. Conclusiones: se establecieron los criterios clínicos y signos de alarma, las pruebas diagnósticas y los esquemas terapéuticos que se recomiendan en la atención de los pacientes con estreñimiento crónico funcional en Colombia.Guías de práctica clínica basadas en la evidencia57-66Abstract Objective: Design a clinical practice guideline to orient the diagnosis and establishing the classification and pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment in adult patients with chronic functional constipation in Colombia. Materials and Methods: This guide was developed by a multidisciplinary team with the support of the Colombian Association of Gastroenterology, Cochrane STI Group and Clinical Research Institute of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Relevant clinical questions were developed and the search for national and international guidelines in databases was performed. Existing guidelines were evaluated for quality and applicability. None of the guidelines met the criteria for adaptation, so the group decided to develop a de novo guideline. Systematic literature searches were conducted by the Cochrane Group. The tables of evidence and recommendations were made based on the GRADE methodology. Results: A clinical practice based on evidence was developed for the diagnosis, classification and pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of patients with chronic functional constipation in Colombia. Conclusions: The clinical criteria and warning signs, diagnostic tests and therapeutic regimens that are recommended in the care of patients with chronic functional constipation were established in Colombi